22.31 mile practice paddle

Eight boats launched from Kingston on a gray March morning. Three kayaks (including one tandem) and five rowboats, all crewed by teams who have raced or are lining up for the Seventy48. Team OctoCosta, Team Salish, Team Grin and Bair It, RoBear Rucker, and a few others made the trip. It felt like a Seventy48 reunion a couple of months ahead of the race.

It was a cold one, mid 40s, under a gray sky to match. We headed north up the east side of the Kitsap Peninsula and straight into a headwind that kept everyone honest. The first few miles out of Kingston were the roughest of the day. Waves broke over bows, and everybody got a little wet earning their breakfast.

Once we got up past Eglon and closed in on Point No Point, the wind finally gave up. From there the day turned about as good as March gets on Puget Sound: barely a breath of wind and flat, calm water. Even better, the current swung in our favor between Point No Point and Foul Weather Bluff and handed us a free push through a stretch that can turn mean in a hurry.

That favorable water was a big part of the point. Beyond just logging a longer day, this route traces a good chunk of the actual Seventy48 race course. Getting reps on the same water I will be racing, in the same conditions, is about as good as training gets.

We had the usual Puget Sound company out there too, including a container ship sliding through the shipping lane off in the distance.

We pulled in at Hansville to regroup and shake out the legs before the push toward Twin Spits.

At Twin Spits the group turned for Port Gamble, but I peeled off to head straight home. I already had a long paddle ahead of me, and the detour to Port Gamble would only have made it longer. Instead I pointed across toward Hood Head, crossed to the far side of the Hood Canal, and turned south for the run home.

The rest of the way down the canal was calm and quiet, just me and a steady paddling rhythm. A good way to close out 22-plus miles.

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